August 1, 2015

Since at least 1914, only two Red Sox hitters have had a game with at least 4 hits, 5 runs scored, and 3 RBI. Travis Shaw, playing in only his tenth major league game, is one of the two. (Here's a list of the nine Red Sox players with at least 4 hits and 5 runs scored in one game: click. Shaw is #10.)

Shaw doubled and scored in the second inning, homered in the third, singled and scored in the fifth, walked and scored in the sixth, and hit a two-run home run in the eighth.

July 30, 2015

David Ortiz went 3-for-3 with a walk and two RBI. ... Xander Bogaerts went 3-for-4 and scored twice. ... Rusney Castillo had two hits, including his second home run of the year, and two runs scored. ... Wright: 7-6-2-2-8, 116.

Daniel Nava was designated for assignment and Tommy Layne was optioned to Pawtucket to make room on the roster for relief pitchers Jonathan Aro and Jean Machi.

The White Sox once again jumped out to a fast start [on Wednesday night], scoring six times in the first three innings in their 9-2 win at Boston. It was the third straight game in which Chicago scored at least five runs before the start of the fourth inning, all wins at Fenway Park. The White Sox had only once before put up five runs over the first three innings in three straight road games. That was in 1936, in wins over Washington (July 17) and Philadelphia (a doubleheader on July 18).

Jon Lester struck out 14 Rockies batters over eight innings in a 3-2 victory at Wrigley Field. The Cubs have won two World Series since the last time they had a left-handed pitcher record 14+ strikeouts in a game. On May 30, 1906, Jack Pfiester fanned 17 Cardinals in a complete-game 4-2, 15-inning home loss to the Cardinals. The Cubs finished that year with a record of 116-36 (.763), representing the best single-season winning percentage in modern major-league history. The North Siders lost to the crosstown White Sox in the Fall Classic before rebounding to win the World Series in both 1907 and 1908.

There has been a lot of talk about the benefits and drawbacks of automated umpires for calling balls and strikes. Advocates and skeptics. But on Tuesday night in the independent Pacific Association in a game between the San Rafael Pacifics and Vallejo Admirals, everyone will get to see an automated strike zone in action in a professional game.

The two-game automated umpire trial is the brainchild of former big league outfielder Eric Byrnes, who will serve as the "Strike Zone Umpire" for the two games as a charity fundraiser for the Pat Tillman Foundation. ...

The technology is pretty widespread and understood at this point. Three cameras track the ball in three dimensions. Byrnes will be sitting with a monitor in front of him on press row. When the pitch crosses the plate, the pitching tracking software will show whether it's a strike or a ball. Byrnes will then immediately call ball or strike into the public address system. There will still be a home-plate umpire to handle any other calls that need to be made at the plate (such as check swings and plays at the plate). Longo said that the Pacific Association's umpires were consulted and are in favor of testing out the system. ...

Not long ago the independent Atlantic League added some innovative initiatives to speed up the pace of play, many of which were later adopted by Major League Baseball. It would not be surprising if other independent leagues toyed with the idea of testing automated ball-strike calls. From there, the idea could grow.

This is excellent news. The toughest thing for me is rethinking my negative opinion of Eric Byrnes.